Imran ‘flirting’ with US after accusing it of conspiring against him: Khawaja Asif

Federal Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif said on Friday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan “is flirting with America after accusing the country of conspiring against his government” and bringing down his leadership.

In a press conference alongside Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, he said Imran had a cult following which would end very soon.

“Imran is a hypocrite. His political journey started with a cipher through which he had accused the US of conspiring against his government,” said Asif.

Today, PTI leader Shireen Mazari has written to the US and Imran is now seeking help from them, he claimed.

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“The series of events since the vote of no-confidence show Imran’s journey, his dismissal from the government and now his SOS to the US for help.”

Citing that Imran’s lies were clear to everyone, he said that “Imran was accusing the US of conspiring against him, even taking names, but now he is once again flirting with the American government through lobbyists and approaching them for aid and help.”

“His utterances are completely irrational. Perhaps his followers do believe him but most people have lost track of whatever he says,” the minister said.

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His comments come days after it was reported that the PTI’s US wing hired a firm in the US to lobby for Imran and make the public aware of the threat to his life.

On Thursday, Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman slammed the purported ‘U-turn’ made by PTI by signing a six-month agreement with private US consulting firm, Praia Consultant and using their services to promote the party’s image and restoring its lost credibility.

In a series of tweets, the minister said the move exposed the PTI’s “double standards and hypocrisy”.

The federal minister said that many countries appoint lobbyists, and so do political parties, but this case was bizarre because it came from a party that attempted to pose itself as a martyr of “US meddling”.

“If that was the case, why are they now locked in a desperate attempt to buy the influence of the US decision-makers after the failure of the ‘Cipher Conspiracy’ narrative and earlier lobbying efforts? PTI’s double standards and U-turns have been exposed many times,” she said.